Episodes

Join Michael in his discussion with actor, comedian, writer, and podcast host Michael Ian Black about his book A Better Man, A Mostly Serious Letter to my Son; a compelling reflection on masculinity and its sometimes devastating consequences for human relations and American culture writ large. Guest Michael Ian Black Michael Ian Black is a multi-media talent who’s starred in numerous films and TV series, written and/or directed two films, is a prolific author and commentator, and regularly tour...

Join Michael in his discussion with E.J. Dionne, Jr. and Miles Rapoport about their new book 100% Democracy, The Case for Universal Voting which argues the mandatory participation in our electoral system should be the cornerstone of our Democracy. Simply put, the authors make a compelling argument that it is time for the United States to recognize voting as both a fundamental civil right and a solemn civic duty of all U.S. citizens About the Guests E.J. Dionne, Jr. E.J. Dionne writes about pol...

About today’s episode… Join Michael in his discussion labor union organizer Daisy Pitkin as they discuss her riveting new book, On the Line, A Story of Class, Solidarity, and Two Women’s Epic Fight to Build a Union which details the efforts of two brave women to unionize industrial laundry workers in Phoenix, Arizona. Daisy documents this bold five-year campaign as well as detailing all the ways US labor laws are rigged making it nearly impossible for workers to achieve basic workplace fairness....

Join me and Katy Tur as we discuss his new memoir, Rough Draft, a memorizing account of her lived experience growing up the daughter of famous journalists and charting her own path from local news, to weather chaser, to NBC national correspondent, to anchoring her own show, Katy Tur Reports, on MSNBC. Guest Katy Tur Katy Tur is the anchor of Katy Tur Reports on MSNBC, a correspondent for NBC News, and the author of the New York Times bestseller Unbelievable. Tur is the recipient of a 2017 Walte...

Garrett M. Graff, a distinguished magazine journalist, international bestselling historian, and regular TV commentator and producer, has spent nearly two decades covering politics, technology, and national security and is recognized today as one of the nation’s most prolific and wide-ranging journalists and historians. Join Michael in his discussion with Garrett Graff about his new book Watergate: A New History, as he explores the full, untold story of Watergate on its 50-year anniversary. Gue...

David Gergen has served as a White House adviser to four U.S. presidents of both parties: Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. He is a professor of public service and founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and senior political analyst for CNN. In addition, he is a NY Times best-selling author. Join Michael in his discussion with David Gergen about his new book, Hearts Touched with Fire, How Great Leaders are Made as they explore the fundamental attribut...

The high-end art world is one of the most secretive—and largely unregulated—global enterprises. The list of its associations with crime runs long and deep from art theft to tax fraud, to forgery, and money laundering. Join Michael and his guests Stefan Koldehoff and Tobias Timm as they discuss their new book, Art and Crime, The Fight Against Looters, Forgers, and Fraudsters in the High-Stakes Art World. Joining Michael as a special guest to help facilitate this conversation is Dr. Philip Eliaso...

(PODCAST) Between 1918 and 1921, over a hundred thousand Jews were murdered in Ukraine by peasants, townsmen, and soldiers setting in motion the genocidal violence that created the conditions for the Holocaust. Join me in my discussion with Jeffrey Veidlinger about his new book, In the Midst of Civilized Europe, The Pogroms of 1918-1921 and the Onset of the Holocaust. Guest Jeffrey Veidlinger Jeffrey Veidlinger is the Joseph Brodsky Collegiate Professor of History and Judaic Studies at the Uni...

Join me in my conversation with Anna Malaika Tubbs as we discuss her new book The Three Mothers, How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation. Anna is a multidisciplinary scholar on race, gender and equity issues. She holds a BA in anthropology from Stanford University and a MS in gender studies and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Cambridge where she was a Bill and Melinda Gates Cambridge Scholar. This special edition podcast was recorded in ...

Join me in my conversation with Matti Friedman as we discuss his new book Who By Fire, Leonard Cohen in the Sinai which recounts the singer/songwriter’s performances in Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur war. Relying on newly revealed notes kept by Cohen, Friedman takes us into the war as Cohen traveled across the Sinai and Suez to perform for the Israeli troops in the most important time in Israeli history. Matti Friedman is a journalist and the author of three previous works of nonfiction. He ...

Join me in my conversation with Harvard Professor Tomiko Brown-Nagin as we discuss her new book, Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality, a biography of the civil rights icon and first African American woman appointed to the federal judiciary, Constance Baker Motley. Guest Professor Tomiko Brown-Nagin Tomiko Brown-Nagin is dean of Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Daniel P.S. Paul Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School, and member of the history depart...

Join Michael Zeldin and his special guest, Muriel Fox, a co-founder of the National Organization For Women (NOW) where she headed Public Relations and served as the Operations Lieutenant to President Betty Friedan. Muriel is one of the pioneers of the women’s movement. Among her many accomplishments, she was instrumental in convincing President Johnson to issue an executive order prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sex. Guest Muriel Fox Muriel Fox is a feminist trailblazer in...

Join me and Erin Thompson, Professor of Art Crime at City University of New York as we discuss her new book, Smashing Statues, The Rise and Fall of America’s Public Monuments which lays bare the turbulent and often ironic history of American Public Monuments from Liberty, which stand atop of the Capitol in Washington, DC to Stone Mountain and other Confederate statues that are ever present across the South. Guest Erin L. Thompson Erin L. Thompson, who holds a PhD and a JD, is a professor of art...

Join Michael Zeldin as he speaks with Princeton historian Julian Zelizer about his book, Abraham Joshua Heschel, A Life of Radical Amazement. In his lifetime, Rabbi Heschel helped to carve out space for progressive religious voices on the national and international stage in the civil rights, anti-war, and religious freedom movements. Coretta Scott King, called Heschel “one of the great men of our times.” Julian Zelizer is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Publ...

Join me and John Avlon as we discuss his book Lincoln and the Fight for Peace. This is an important account of Lincoln’s plan to win the peace after the Civil War. It is a fascinating account of Lincoln’s vision and leadership. This vision inspired future presidents and offers important lessons for lawmakers and citizens alike in our current times. Guest John Avlon John Avlon is an author, columnist and commentator. He is a senior political analyst and fill-in anchor at CNN, appearing on New Da...

Join me and Danté Stewart as we discuss his new memoir, Shouting In The Fire, An American Epistle an important account of lived experience growing up in rural South Carolina, his time ministering to a predominantly white evangelical congregation, his journey out of that church, and into a liberating pursuit of faith that speaks truth to pain and trauma as a Black man in America. Guest Danté Stewart Danté Stewart is author of Shoutin’ In The Fire: An American Epistle. Named by Religion News Serv...

Join me and Brian Karem as we discuss his new book, FREE THE PRESS: THE DEATH OF AMERICAN JOURNALISM AND HOW TO REVIVE ITwhich analyzes the erosion of the trust of the press and asks two critical questions: How did we get here? And, most importantly, how do we fix it before it’s too late? Karem brings 40 years of journalistic experience to this discussion and a laser focus on the importance of a robust free press to our democracy. Guest Brian Karem Brian J. Karem is an award-winning journalist...

Join me and Allison Moorer as we discuss her new memoir, I Dreamed He Talks to Me, A Memoir of Listening How to Listen a profoundly moving account of parenting her autistic son, John Henry. Moorer brings voice to what it means to love and support so...

Join me and Professor Griffin as we discuss her new book, Read Until You Understand, The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature which explores timeless values that guide us, reminding us of our responsibility to ourselves and others as it also encourages us to learn the bitter truths of our history as well as the transcendent beauty and humanity of some of our responses to it. Guest Professor Farah Jasmine Griffin Farah Jasmine Griffin is Chair of African-American & African Diaspora S...

Join me and The Honorable Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell as we discuss her new memoir, Her Honor, My Life on the Bench… What’s Broken and How to Change It. This frank and honest memoir recounts Judge Cordell’s experiences over nearly two decades on the bench. At the time of her appointment, she became the first African American woman jurist in Northern California. She also has served as the vice provost of Stanford University and the independent police auditor for the city of San Jose, CA. With c...

Join me and Michael Tubbs as we discuss his new memoir, The Deeper the Roots, A Memoir of Hope and Home. This astonishing memoir traces Michael’s upbringing in Stockton, CA at a time when it was one of the most violent cities in America through his scholarship to attend Stanford University and onto his becoming the youngest elected Mayor in California history at the age of 26. With candor and clarity, Michael unveils his compelling vision for America rooted in his experiences and offers a prescr...

Join me and Dara Horn as we discuss her new book, People Love Dead Jews, Reports from a Haunted Present, described as a startling and profound exploration of how the different ways we commemorate Jewish history, whether through Jewish heritage sites, Holocaust fiction or the Anne Frank House, is exploited to comfort the living more than to honor Jewish life. Dara is the author of 5 novels and was named one of Granta Magazine of New Writings Best Young Novelists. This is her first work of nonfic...

Join me and Michael Ignatieff as we discuss his new book, On Consolation: Finding Solace in Dark Times. On Consolation offers a two thousand year look at how humankind struggled with and endeavored to find consolation in its darkest hours. In a series of essays from the books of Job and Psalms through Dante and Albert Camus concluding with Dr. Cicely Saunders, the founder of the modern hospice movement, Professor Ignatieff elaborates on how men and women in extremity sought to recover hope and r...

Join me and Kirsten Powers as we discuss her new and inspiring book, Saving Grace: Speak Your Truth, Stay Centered, Learn to Coexist with People Who Drive You Nuts. Saving Grace offers a compelling prescription for navigating the times in which we find ourselves. Grace, Kirsten compellingly, argues is what makes human coexistence possible. Kirsten is a USA Today columnist and a senior political analyst for CNN. Prior to her journalism career, Kirsten served as the Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Re...